The Other Side
by WonderfulDreamer15
Summary: Harley and Joker set up a revenge plan against a certain rival, disguising themselves as long forgotten allies of his. After an unfortunate outcome of their game they are taken to Arkham; where the harlequin confirms some truths are better untold. With the truth of Joker's unknown past, now she must decide wheter to finaly cure him or not. The price? Her own life and identity.
1. Count me in

Harley found herself too quiet and bored in the living room of their wrecked but still homelike theater; half seated, half laying on the biggest and comfiest of the couches with two huskily happy hyenas by her side, Lou tugging at her red silk robe, and Bud playing with her bare toes. Her heavily painted eyes wandered from her hand caressing the hairs of the pet that was closer to the only door of their home which was never, ever opened for her.

She thought of how many times had she been in this specific position and situation for the past years, millions maybe, each with a different affectionate reason, and clothing for a change; but boy, she realized, she knew better than entering the Joker's office and causing herself some bruises and cuts and pains that would last far longer than exactly three seconds of false romantic hope. They had been together far enough for her to learn some quite important things about her Puddin', to keep her not too wounded and him nor too irritated by her presence. However, she still wondered about the other things though, the kind of things that woke him up at night sweating (or maybe crying, she could never tell as it was too dark), and shivering, whispering unintelligible words to himself, the kind of things that left him staring at her adoringly for a short time before he just got angry out of nowhere and made him want to cut her in half and munch at her beating, loving heart as a punishment rather done to himself for caring too much about what the moonlight made to the baby blue of her eyes. The kind of things that made him never want to think about having a family with her, making her tear her brains apart while thinking for one good reason not to. Or rather, just the kind of things that kept her fucking restricted from entering the goddamn office as if it was a strip club or some other so secretive shit…!

"Oh, Harley!" He called from the insides of the place she was cursing about mentally at that very moment. "Come for a bit, pumpkin pie!" the last part made her stare at the well secured door with wide opened eyes, she shared her surprised reaction with the babies that were equally shocked by the sudden modification to their routine. After a good second of thought, the three members of Joker's home gang grinned playfully to themselves.

"Guess it's Mommy's lucky day, boys!" she roared, wasted no time in standing up and straightening her bed wear, the hyenas released encouraging and deafening laughter to their master as she made her way to the studio, strutting proudly. She knocked softly before opening the door, batting her large black eyelashes at who was still facing his back to her.

"You called, Mr. J?" she said with a wide smile.

"Come closer to daddy, baby. We have business to discuss…" he gave her the sign to approach, she squealed to herself walking towards him, but suddenly being disappointed ash she discovered that he truly had meant "business"; she knew when he was eager for some playtime, and his expression had work, work, work, coffee and more work written all over his face. He didn't even look at her despite her outfit and makeup. So it would be one of those nights…

"What can I do for you, Pud'?" she sighed, resigning to be the maid of her lover for the rest of the time he needed to keep his eyes locked to paperwork.

"Thanks for the eagerness, Harls…" uh-oh, she had bothered him, and just when she was about to apologize for her response he pulled her harshly onto his lap, wrapping his free arm around her slim waist. "No problemo, you'll be getting all excited once I explain it to you…" he stopped scribing and finally focused his tired, bright green stare at her. Making her heart beat too quickly and soundly. "You do remember our old friend, Sal Valestra, don't you, honey bunny?" Harley nodded once, trying to calm her senses, his grin only grew wider.

"Nothing but a nosy, manipulating piece of mafia scum, Puddin" she replied remembering his yelling of the unending tantrums he gave when the name of his somehow ex-boss got to his ears.

"You said it, my harlequin. And you know I cannot stand that kind of style less, rude criminals. Even less when they try to threaten me; me, the one and only Clown Prince of Crime!" he snorted angrily for a while and whispered under his breath "Nobody will ever know how much blood has run down my hands, how dirty are they, who the hell cares anyway? I'm a villain for some fucking reason!" she tried not to giggle, but he just looked so adorable when he hated other people out loud "Anyways, daddy has decided it's time to take down some of his false gotten pride, sweets… and you're gonna help me" wait, he was seriously including her on one of his so carefully thought plans?!

"S-sure, Puddin', what must I do?" she hesitated a while, the evening was taking some turns she hadn't been exactly ready for.

"You see, I send the boys off to do some research for me; they got all of the first and last names of people who have, are and will work for that worm. And I got some pretty interesting details from his gang…"

"Such a difficult job well done, boss. I wonder how many of their fingers were in risk this time…" they laughed together softly, enjoying their bits of black, bloody comedy only a pair of psycho clowns could understand and love.

"Can't really tell, but it was definitely worth each ten of them, toots… But back to what we care about, I found a guy that someday connected Valestra and one of the many Red Hoods, long ago… No one knows what happened to the poor bastard, he disappeared after the first job he was assigned; Batsy was somehow involved too, he was the last to see him. And this wonderful Mr. Nobody might be the answer for my prayers to take down the motherfucker!" he bumped his free hand on the surface of the desk making the papers and pencils bounce, as they flew he caught a certain one in the air and brought it down to their gazes.

"Jack Napier? Not a name you hear every day, outstanding for a Mr. Nobody" her doctor mind worked as she stared at the picture of a tall, skinny man walking behind two of Valestra's old gang members. Brown hair, dark eyes and a nervous feeling showing on his face; with a strange mixture of grief, distrust and fear, the man must have surely had a lot of trouble; he seemed too good to be working for someone like Salvatore. The poor man mustn't have known what he had gotten himself into.

"And even more outstanding were his reasons to relate himself to the mafia. He had gotten married at a quite young age, his wife Jeannie and him didn't have much money and so he had to look for whatever job could provide a hold for them. She died in a "home accident" the day he himself disappeared, but only a few people hear of the unfortunate events. This chapter of the Valestra gang was erased permanently, that until I couldn't keep my hands and worries to myself!" he chuckled happily; she stared at the other picture, a pretty young woman with her hair only darker than Harley's, but much shorter and a different shade of blue, she on the other hand looked a lot calmer and joyful, now she was actually the one that hadn't known a thing! This sounded like a story written for a soap opera, too sad and mysterious to be true, kinda what his Puddin' liked as a good joke, promising the best of punchlines and he would obviously be willing to get his hands the dirtiest needed with it.

"Let me play the saddest song with the smallest violin of the world…" she earned a quick giggle from him "And what are we going to do in order to redeem these two souls in pain?" she put her arms around his shoulders and gave him a peck on the exposed skin of his neck.

"We're bringing them back to life, toots…We'll be Jack and Jeannie sitting on a tree" the surroundings of his pupils became darker. "The gang's having a fancy encounter in Pegger's club in a few days, who know Oswald had these many contacts, and such a bad taste for them… Anyway, as this is an old and untold story and we have the benefit that Sally would never make an appearance in a public space except it was awfully necessary, we'll only dress ourselves up to get some information from his just acquired rookies and we'll be out in the blink of an eye! What do you think, future Mrs. Napier?" she bit her lip thinking it through.

"I dunno, Puddin'… Ya' sure no one will notice?" her Brooklyn accent just slipped out of her mouth when she was uncomfortable.

"Oh, c'mon, where's my brave baby girl? Has daddy ever done something he wasn't sure of doing? There's nothing to be worried about!" he caressed her cheek with his calloused fingers and made her shiver under his touch before he would take his velvet smile to the crook of her neck, pulling out a moan now from her lips "Besides…" he kissed his way up to her ear "I know how much you like to play dress up… and you, dear, know how much that turns me on" her eyes had rolled up from his careful teasing but she focused them again and stared seriously, determined to her boyfriend's face.

"Count me in, love" she ran her hand through her slightly messy green locks and he groaned approvingly.

"That's my girl" he purred to her ear "Now… I really don't want you to think I didn't notice you pulled out the goodies, and you've been a good girl, little minx. You deserve your reward" this time she squealed loud enough for him to hear her and join her on the delight. His lips walk the way down again to meet her half exposed chest and his fingers tugged softly on the knot of the robe, taking his time, but he wasn't the only one acting strange. She on the other side, simply wandered her hands through his tensed back, rubbing gently; her mind couldn't help but to wonder around the bad feeling this plan was giving to her, she couldn't tell why… maybe it was the risk of having one of Valestra's dummies know what had truly happened to Mr. and Mrs. Nobody and recognize them, or maybe it was about the fate those two people had faced. It just didn't feel that right…

"Oh, Harl, you do take care of me…" she hadn't noticed he had already thrown away the robe and was staring hungrily at her black lingerie, he rested his hand on her waist and pulled her closer to her hips, making her feel the excitement build up inside him. "What would I do without my little puppet?" his mouth finally found hers in a deep, satisfying kiss that allowed her mind to slip from insecurities and focus on what really mattered…

There was nothing she wouldn't do for this man.

* * *

" _Sorry to disturb you, Batman, you mustn't think I believe you're a man with no occupation"_ Commissioner James Gordon tried to greet the superhero as he entered his office.

"Worry not, Commissioner, we have always shared similar goals. It's our duty to protect this city, and we're here to help each other" the Bat assured him, somehow thankful that his close friend didn't look as preoccupied and scared as other times. He knew this call was meant to assign him a mission, nothing that needed his instant care or intervention.

"Yeah, I appreciate that really. The issue now is about Valestra's gang, I've heard from my agents they are to hold a meeting in the Iceberg Lounge. It doesn't sound too bad now, but there's always the possibility of it ending with commotion and violence…" he took his glasses off and started rubbing his exhausted eyes with one hand.

"You want me to keep an eye on the criminal's party…"

"Yes, I hope it won't be too much work… but for the issues Valestra has caused us in the past, I prefer to be rather safe than sorry." Batman understood why he seemed so tired, and he couldn't help but feeling a piercing guilt inside his chest, he knew exactly what had made his situation even more difficult; and he hadn't been able to help that time.

"It's no problem, Commissioner. I'll do what's necessary, not more or less" he responded as sure as he desired to feel, and he turned to leave… but his thoughts held him standing right where he was, he sighed. "How's your daughter?".

"She's… learning to live with it, Barbara has been nothing but strong her whole life. I've got to admit it… it seems that I'm having much harder time than her regarding her condition" life had always hit his family hard, but just as Batman himself knew, if it hadn't stopped… it was only because they were meant to continue living.

"It's good that she's handling it well… You should also give some time to yourself to recover; spend some more time with her, take care of both of you" he hoped a sincere advice would do some good to his friends damaged faith. The only other thing he could do about it, was already done, he and Barbara had taken their separate ways.

"Sure, I will try... Thank you- for everything" he sounded yet so sincere but still so hurt.

"No need to thank me…" and he meant it, he didn't deserve any gratitude… not towards anything that could have linked him to her.

 **To be continued…**

 _Dreamer._

Hello people! Okay so, one day I was watching The Killing Joke for the second time in my life, and I just can't stop myself from letting a few tears run down my cheeks when I see the particular scenes of the Joker's past, I don't know it just moves me too much; even though later some pretty more shocking things happen… oh, well! The thing is that I always wondered how would Harley have reacted to the truth of whom her Puddin' was before being Batman's enemy; to know that he had been married and with a child on the way (don't think I've forgotten ;) ) and how he came to be. So this is my take on probably how they would react to finding out the truth about him, I know I'll probably mix so many things from the comics, movies, the animated series and any Batman reference I can get along with every theory ever made up and my own vision of how it all would be, might be a little OOC, I have warned you! And this is my first fanfic about the DC universe so I'll definitely need your help, please leave your comments on what you think, what you'd want to read, what other things you would want to be discovered and anything that comes to your mind! I even consider on taking a chance to write some smutty business on later chapters, I don't know you tell me, hehe! Anyways, thank you for reading and I'll see you on the next chapter, buh-bye! :3


	2. Some nights

_~Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck_ _._ _Some nights, I call it a draw_ _._ _Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle._ _Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off_ _._ _But I still wake up, I still see your ghost_ _._ _Oh Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for_ _._ _What do I stand for? What do I stand for?_ _Most nights, I don't know anymore...~ Fun, "Some Nights"._

This was their thing, the blonde thought looking at the mirror as she applied each color with such carefulness and concentration that it would've earned a strong punch for anyone that would've dared try to intervene with her task. This was what they liked to do; dress themselves up, pretend to be someone they were not, sometimes with their own face, sometimes it required a bit more of characterization, and finally they went out around the city at late hours to make a mess that would either get them a visit from Arkham Asylum's exclusive delivery boy: The Batman, or a nice clean escape filled with laughter and joy that found it's perfect conclusion as a passionate love night. Most of the times when they decided to just fool around like this, there was really no plan involved, no specific reason, but this time Puddin' had taken enough shit from Valestra therefore this time, ironically, the game was much more serious and if one tiny bit of a detail slipped from their hands everything would be ruined.

Still that didn't mean that Harley didn't enjoy the time she had spent since the early afternoon turning herself into the perfect copy of Mrs. Nobody, they were clowns of course, makeup was something they just had to know about; but then there was the other part of it, she saw their work as art pieces. Art was one of the most loved and effective ways of communication, and that's exactly what they did night after night! In disguise, portraying the role of society's filthiest scum, to give each one of their expectations a clear message: The world is not what you want to think it is…

"Honey! Are you ready? We'll be late" Mr. J said with his best impression of a standard, too normal American husband to which Harley giggled and had to stop her hand from ruining the master piece of her face with a messy spot of eyeliner.

"Almost, sweetheart!" she replied in the same matter, running the surface of her eyelid and painting it with a delicate, slim line in no time, smiling with the result. "I've just got to put the synthetics on and we'll be good to go" she returned to her high pitched voice as she took out a wig and contacts from her vast collection. She had had to cut the hairpiece so it resembled the woman in the picture, it wasn't exactly a clear shot but she had the benefit that Mrs. Napier had never been formally introduced to Valestra's men. Though on the insides she was actually begging that no one in the "party" knew what had really happened to the poor bastards they were to be that night. She had one last look of her and straightened the fabric of her long lavender dress and adjusted a simple chain with a small silver pendant around her thin neck; the outfit was thigh but not too much and made her look elegant without being a showoff. She had to put a lot of her psychiatrist abilities to work to get the look right, and from the things she could get from Jeannie's expression and body language, she was somewhat timid and reserved, and she was wondering how would she pull that off when being so different from her usual attitude.

"My, my! Call me one lucky bastard; is this delicacy really my fake wife?" the Joker appeared behind her with only half of his familiar crimson grin. She realized he actually had half of the face still to do, but what he had accomplished too was breathtaking, she turned around to admire him.

"Wow, how the hell did ya' do it?! I mean I thought I had done well just a second ago" she stared into the part of his face that had been turned into Jack Napier's The similarities between their features were hard to be ignored, and even a bit scary: she caressed his cheek, being able to feel the permanent scars but not seeing them "You're just every girl's dream, Mr. J, what else could a gal want but a man who can do his own makeup?"

"A man who can do his own nails, you still have to help me with that… makes me feel less of a dreamy man!" her laughter followed his comment as she took his hands to see he didn't even think of trying to remove the black nail polish and kissed his fingers with an amused smirk. His face suddenly grimaced strangely as he stared into the new dark blue of her eyes; he looked as if he was daydreaming while staring at her, his mind wandering around the faint memory of a woman very much alike to the one standing in front of him, too much in fact… Too much.

"Jean…?" he whispered so quietly that he was the only one to hear it.

"What was that, Pud'?" Harley asked, disturbed because of his sudden emotion swing, he blinked once to focus again on who was actually there with him, but the uneasiness didn't left his face. "Why are you staring at me like that, do I have monkeys on my face or something?" she chuckled happily.

"No, just half of a clown…" he replied making her stare at her reflection again and then return to him laughing.

"Nah, that´s you, baby!"

"Exactly!" his lips touched hers before she could ruin the joke, so her words died in between their mouths, both of them smiling as they kissed for a long while; on his insides he knew he had kissed her to distract himself from the odd thoughts that had come into his mind more than to congratulate a job well done. "Good one, Mr. J" she continued to giggle at his clever joke.

"And literal one, it seems" he ran a finger through the cheek that had had contact with the undone part of his face, taking of only a bit of the smeared white grease paint "Good luck with that, doll" he gave her one last peck before returning to the bathroom of their room, leaving her too in love to understand his punchline… at least immediately. She turned to her vanity to see what he meant.

"Aw, Puddin'! I've been doin' this since three o'clock, ya' know?!" she protested loudly and sat back angrily and pulled a cloth from her box to remove the remains of white and red on her right cheek.

"Well, it's you who says I never display any affection to you! And when I do you complain?! What's with you women? Give me a break!" he talked back, and she pouted more. All of her hard work and this was what she got! She didn't even know why she had to put so much effort to it if she didn't wasn't aware of why exactly did he need her with him and adding to it that the base of their plan was as thin as a string, if only one pair of eyes distinguished them they'd be fucked up. Her more than him because if they failed his fury and blaming would find release on her face… Of course, the doubts hadn't left her head, and the voices didn't make it any better! _'Just tell him as gently as you can… No, that's useless! Mr. J always tells you to trust him and shut up, then keep your fucking mouth shut! … But if something goes wrong he'll blame us for not saying…_ _He did say he wanted our help this time! Maybe if we try to make it an unimportant comment out of nowhere…?'_

"Alright, all of you shut it already! The point of going to a party isn't _going_ with a headache, it's _returning home_ with one!" she spoke to her tiny selves and focused on fixing the disaster their love had made on her face. An only ten minutes later was that she decided to express her worries. "Hmmm, Puddin'?" She only poked her head to stare at him from the door frame.

"Came to give me more hell because of the paint?" his face had been completely turned into somebody else's, but his voice and being were still the same.

"Not at all… it's just that… won't it seem a bit suspicious that after so much time and having happened what happened Mr. Nobody just popped out of nowhere and appeared in the reunion party of Valestra's gang? I mean we're, or rather _they_ are, going without a real reason… or invitation" she played with her fingers unable to tell him that kind of worries to the eye, he sighed irritated.

"You said it, pumpkin pie! It's a _reunion_ party. Don't put much head into it, Harl, if you do it won't be funny anymore! Just grab a hold of it and go with the flow! I'm not called a genius for nothing, if something comes up then I'll push it back down. You only have to be pretty and silent, so don't you worry your little mind with the planning, I've got that covered…" he continued to tie his bow without giving her a single glimpse.

"I don't doubt that, but if someone knows that they died then we will…"

"Nobody ever confirmed he had died, only her. And I doubt any of them know that much of the happy couple, just unconfirmed rumors. He was a short time employee, all they had to know about him was that he desperately needed a job, had eyes, legs and arms, and finite! And about the Mrs.? Even less, the only remarkable thing about her was the way she died. But if we do find someone who heard the horror story, we'll just tell them that there were two big incidents that ended in surgery and it turned out A-Okay! As simple as that." She often asked herself how he could make up a story, pro's and posts included, in less than five minutes, not giving off even a hint of it being a lie. He always knew perfectly what he was doing, so what made her feel such uncertainness?

"I just… wanted to help you…" she whispered trying to confirm to herself that was it, and then remembered he could even hear the slightest sound coming from her mouth, he snorted turning to face her and take her by the chin, strong enough for it to hurt but not to damage her, or so he thought.

"Hear me now, beautiful, when I said I would need your help with this I didn't meant at planning, I meant it at carrying this out; don't feel so special… I'm taking you only to be the eyes I can't have on my back, you may be dumb but you do have good vision, only to get some minor details that I may not notice, not that I need you, it's you who does need a reason to call yourself my sidekick! If you were going to be this unprofessional though, I could've just hired an actress to do it and give me a feast of her skin and bones at the end of the night. But no, I've let you take part on it, so I expect you not to ruin it with your pointless questions! You know perfectly what happens when Daddy doesn't get away with his thing, don't you? So you'll be my perfect lil' hench girl and do what I say" his fierce green stare made her chill to the core and loose balance and the strength with which he held the lower part of her skull must have left a mark she would have to retouch in the car .

"Yes… boss" she gave in, he _was_ a genius after all, if he hadn't thought meticulously of what he wanted to do, he wouldn't have done it and that's it, just like with all of the plans he left as paper… and she remembered that one with the piranhas she had tried to perform and only won an almost full casted body from it, she should listen to tiny self-number two and keep her mouth shut.

"Good girl…" he let go of his chin forcefully and walked out, she was left panting and having to support herself against the frame. She would do as she was told, not to think, not to fear, not to care… but nobody could tell her want to think, and despite that their chances of being caught weren't that high she couldn't, and wouldn't stop believing…

There was something about this plan that was plain wrong…

* * *

" _Jonny, ya' sure the babies will be okay left with the newbies?"_ Harley had to ask, only for a third time since they had gotten in the car, a black Nissan they had gotten for times like this when they had to stay low profile, talking about colors of course, because anyone who say the car would now it wasn't exactly a cheap one. Her hyenas had been left with two young boys just recruited by the Joker, as the rest of the "Jokerz" were surrounding the place in case somebody wanted to bet on their lives and stand in the way of their chief's doing. Frost watched her nervous expression from the rear view mirror, and the boss' annoyed one at her side too.

"Sure, lady-boss. They were given all of the instructions and threats needed" he nodded to soothe her. Though the Joker's face became even tenser at hearing the way Jonny had decided to call Harley, as if they were equals, as if she had any power over him or even them…!

"Humph, _lady-boss_ , yeah sure… You're seriously worrying about the two wild, bloodthirsty animals? I'd worry more about those unfortunate fellas! I do hope they know what they got themselves into, because the fun has just begun for them!" he laughed soundly at the thought of returning home to see Bud and Lou covered in blood and pieces of flesh, what a night it would be!

"We're here…" Frost finally announced when the bright lights of the Iceberg Lounge hit them right into the cornea in the middle of the darkness of a Gotham City night.

" _Bravo_! Let the show begin!" he ran a hand through his now entirely black hair, his partner realized just how much she'd miss the acid green on his head for the rest of the evening, though he looks as handsome as always there was nothing more beautiful for her than her weird colored clown. He came out of the car to open the door for "Mrs. Napier" and offer her his arm, which she took joyfully. "That's what I like to see, a pretty smile on my pretty girl's face. You'll have those fuckers fooled not only for tonight but for the rest of their lives, poo bear!" he pinched her cheek lovingly, and then lowered himself to the driver's window "Wait for the signal to come pick us up, _Juan_ , and better make it a quick ride. This will end with one hell of a blast!" he winked at Jonny.

"Sure thing, boss" he nod, and drove away as rapidly as he could, so no one would notice the Napiers came in such fancy car. They were supposed to be people struggling with money! Joker thought with a grin as they made their way to the door, but it had been a long time since he had had worried himself with something so insignificant as it.

"Good evening and welcome to the Iceberg Lounge, may I take the lady's coat?" in other situation Harley would have punched the receptionist to unconsciousness, but this time her coat wasn't an expensive one and her weapons were well hid under her dress so she slipped out of it with no problem and gave it to him.

"Wait there, ya' fool, I don't recall their faces… how's that you know the boss?" they were interrupted by a big, strong, frightening guy, probably one of Valestra's right hands that ever left the usual suits even while in need of formal wear.

"Ah, it's only natural. I haven't worked for Mr. Valestra in quite a while, but that's ok. Let me introduce myself…" the Joker spoke in his fake, calmed voice while approaching the hatted macho man offering his hand, and his mistake of grabbing it was as great as he was. He had a hand shock buzzer well disguised on his hand, a classic, a bit stronger talking about volts though meaning that it needed not more than the slightest touch to bring the mastodon to the ground with electric sparkles shining all around him. 'I'm Jack, nice to electrocute you" he ended with a low chuckle. 'And this is my beautiful wife, Jeannie…" he turned to see how Harley had already taken care of the receptionist too and was now cleaning her hands with a white handkerchief, stained with their favorite shade of red. "As lethal as well" they held hands once again.

"Uff... that was a close, Pud! I thought I would have to take out the goodies if they didn't let us in!" he blonde had always been conscious about what her looks could do to a man, though in case those didn't work she carried a few of the Joker's favorite tricks down her sleeves, or in this case bra.

"None of that, dear, no need to spoil the fun and make a fuss before this gets boring enough… Not just yet" he kissed her hand and entered the salon, watching the too fancily decorated place for a being a reunion of gangsters, how low from them. "I just hope Peggers doesn't appear he's nothing but chubby, birdy trouble! He might be the owner but he's not invited to my personal party…"

"Hold up, you bastard!" someone said at their backs making them shiver as they turned. "Fucking God! Jack Napier? No way!" a fat, short, hair lacking man in a dark blue suit and tie walked towards them as shocked as they were to be spotted so soon.

"I believe you said no one knew them…" Harley said to her "husband's" ear displaying the biggest of fake beams.

"I never said that! I said not _much_ people knew them…" he also managed to give off a sunny aspect to the man that still mumbled about that he hadn't heard of him for so long, and how the hell had he survived the awful thing that happened and never dared to say a thing blah, blah, blah, some people just didn't know when to stop talking! And who could blame him for using a bullet as the most efficient of plugs down their throats?!

"Holy shit, Jack! You're alive… and well! This is unbelievable, man, really… but miracles do happen every day! You don't remember me, pal?" Joker's pupils made his way to get himself a little reminder note, looking from head to toe, Buzz Bronski, he remembered him from his previous encounters with Sally.

"Ah, Buzz, how could I not remember you?" He held his hand with the one that didn't have the toy on and the man took it still surprised to see the man he had thought to be dead and buried, Joker could sense his uneasiness and fear under it, and it was delicious to him.

"You've got to tell us how the fuck you survived a fall like that… and why the fuck didn't you say anything all these years…" it seemed as the beach ball was suddenly feeling menaced by him, and he was right; but it Joker was understanding correctly what he was saying, his pal had been at the verge of dying the last time they saw him, didn't even bother to confirm he was alive, and what's worse didn't try to contact him… if Mr. Nobody had been a bit smarter, in the case he did survive, he should've taken those fuckers' matter into his own hands and ended it himself. He already had been part criminal, so why not to end the job?

"I know, how rude from me, you must've been worried. But you understand a man's got priorities" he pulled a still immobile Harley closer to his body demanding her to wake up from her inner agitation that was aggravated by the schizophrenic voices on her head.

"Ah, sure, so you got yourself a new Mrs.?" Correction, that _was_ unbelievable! Calling her the _other_ one?! She was the _only_ one! She had and would always be the only one! She was no replacement for anybody!

"It's like you said, Buzz, miracles happen every day…This _is_ Jeannie, that was a night of accidents, but we both made it through it after some medical intervention…" Oh, right, they weren't talking about her, Harley reminded herself before she'd left the cinnamon roll toothless. Bronski appeared to be sweating rivers under his sumptuous clothes.

"Impossible… You're giving me second lasting heart attacks with this, Jack…" he pulled out a handkerchief out of his suit pocket and dried his forehead, so he had been making a sweating pig out of himself, and he smirked back to them. "Ah, but forgive me for my punk behavior… how about you come to my table and meet Mrs. Bronsky?" he turned around that really waiting for them to follow. Ok, the guy was getting something he shouldn't, so Harley raised up her head to tell her boyfriend her caution bell was ringing as Bronsky knew too much, and he just smiled in return. Message received… he was being careless on purpose; to feel the adrenaline rush… oh, how he loved to be closer and closer to the edge every time…

And oh, how she _hated_ it! She sighed giving up and dragged herself to the table where she found Mrs. Bronsky, an all grownup mafia lady, she had to be the official one sure… she had gotten a boob job and showed it off in a tight strapless dress with golden rhinestones. And Mrs. Napier felt self-sufficient; hers were real…and looked damn well.

"Honey, I want to introduce you to the survivors: Jack and Jeannie Napier…" Bronsky said and his wife turned paper white as she saw them in front of the table. "This is my wife, Lara"

"Goodness gracious…" she covered her mouth with her overly decorated hands and looked from them to his husband searching for an explanation to all of that. Bronsky frowned and she was forced to calm down, hell they got aware of something funny about them. "A pleasure" she stood up and they shook hands before taking their seats. It was officially on; a game two sides could play. "Do you want anything to drink?" she called a waiter.

"Scotch for me, nothing for Jean she doesn't drink…" he said it so naturally and without thinking, another part of his story, sure… If he thought of it as true, anyone else could too.

"Not even champagne? It would get this cutie to talk! Don't worry, honey, we don't bite…" Mrs. Bronsky chuckled proudly, as if they were lifetime friends. And no, she wasn't scared anymore, she was fucking pissed.

"Sure, robbing, murdering, doing drugs and alcohol are gangster things; but cannibalism is just a different story, am I right?" Jack's expression had darkened but he still laughed along with them.

"The fuck ya' mean I don't drink? Ya' expect me to go through this cheap play sober?"

"I know how you get when alcohol reaches your system. Don't blame me for trying to be a gentleman and taking care of my dear wife" he replied without their companions noticing. _'Wife, my ass! He'd marry the Batman before even considering making someone his wife! … Shut up, we're supposed to be Mrs. Nobody tonight not the Joker's girlfriend! … Can you girls leave our never to be told problems for when he agrees to go to couples counseling? … That if we survive this madness! He'll be the one to get us killed if he keeps up with this'_

"I tell you, we never really heard a thing about what the heck had happened to you, Jack. But Jeannie… a six month pregnant woman surviving an intense fire in an apartment as big as a freaking bedroom, that's a story to tell! So you're three now?" he light up a cigarette, the harlequin gathered up some strength inside not to gasp… Those monsters… they hadn't only killed her that night…she had a baby.

"No… I had a miscarriage" for the first thing to come out of her mouth, it was something quite unsettling… but it was not totally a lie, maybe that's why she had said it so swiftly. Then again, she was forgetting her role! She had to keep focused…

"Right… that was what happened…" her Puddin' conceded, sounding somewhat hurt, even in his fake voice. Not that she'd ever told him anything like that had happened to her… her mistake.

"Oh, darling… I'm very sorry to hear that" Lara said so but didn't look like it at all; all of the push and pull was making her dizzy. "Maybe it wasn't meant to be that time… you could still try…"

"I don't think so, baby, Jack might be younger than me but he' still an old bag like the rest of us. Unlike precious Jeannie here, haven't you thought of getting yourself a nicer, younger husband?" and here, children, is why you have to leave the jokes to the jokers. _'This is getting too ridiculous, even for us! And we're clowns!'_ One of Harley's tiny selves spoke inside her head as she rolled her eyes.

"Might not be the best on earth, Buzz, but the only one who'll ever love her madly. I almost lost her once, it _can't_ happen again…" the mood swing attacked and he was grabbing her hand firmly, as if she were to disappear at any second. And that stare, god, that stare was sharp enough to pierce through her. "That's why I've dared come here, you know… I've given the normal job, life and man enough chances and they don't seem to do any good for us… I want to work with you and Sal again; do you think that's remotely possible?" Bronski gave a few more puffs to his cigarette, inhaling bravery and exhaling distrust.

"Well, Jack, you'll understand that things are not as easy as they were before. Especially with the Bat freak breathing at our necks… I don't understand how can he be fucking everywhere every time, doesn't he have stupid killer clowns, plants and cats to mind about? Anyways, talking about what concerns us, ya' know it's not my choice to make… you'll have to have a word with Sal and see if he finds ya' useful, pal"

"Sure…Perhaps if you… if you could tell me what's Sal getting down to it'd be easier for me to convince him bout' my skills again… I might've failed the last time, but time's passed since then" his feet went down to ground again as he talked. So he was having trouble with this particular character too, it wasn't only her; but there was something in the way he looked at her, as if he was searching for something inside her in despair.

"You'll have to sign thousand papers and shit like that form him to make sure you won't fall to an acid vat again, buddy." after that, Harley gave in, she gulped too loudly to be ignored. _Acid vat?_ They were about to get caught…

"Sorry, my throat is getting dry; I'll make an exception for tonight and go get a drink, honey… Excuse me" she didn't need to turn her head to know how Mr. J had reacted to her abrupt time out call. She had messed up. She reached the champagne table and what started as getting _a_ drink, ended up in getting eight mixed ones with the help of three bartenders. She was a mess with alcohol but not irresponsible, so she did take glimpses once in a while to make sure Mr. J was getting was he wanted from that whole parade.

"Woah, for someone who doesn't drink you developed a relationship with the venom pretty soon…" Mrs. Bronski was standing next to her in the blink of an eye _. 'Whoopsies, back to work, you drunk blonde…This is why he never takes us out, not to work, not on a date, nothing!'_ she thought, almost giggling at her own scolding.

"It's what a criminal life does to a worried wife, don't you think?" she congratulated herself or delivering that sentence completely accent-less.

"It feels like that the first months but then you learn to go with it. Money makes the world go round, Jeannie, keeps both sides satisfied in the end. And Jack's got potential; I don't know what took him so long to try to get back with the gang…" she joined Harley's party and clicked glasses with her.

"Oh, Mr.… I mean, Jack's the loner type of guy, you know what I mean? He never knows when it's time to ask for help, he doesn't like it… it hurts his pride. I tried to persuade him from doing this though; from his records we can say he's not that cautious… I don't know where this decision will lead us, but I did swore to love him for the rest of my life so!" she emptied her glass with a smile. Funny, how hers and Mrs. Nobody's situation could be so similar and yet so different.

"And we can never tell how much is that life really meant to last, am I wrong?" Harley raised her shoulders in response, granting it to her. "Well, yours… _Jeannie Kerr_ should've lasted much less. And I recall they made sure to end it definitely that time, we took your corpse to the police station… So what the exact fuck do you think you're doing?" whoa, caught red handed; oh, well! It had to happen sooner or later…

"Nothing much, fooling around, giving you guys some good goosebumps and then leaving as nothing had happened… You're such a good wife, Laura or whatever, taking care of your husband's dirty business. When you know it's totally up to him…" she left the empty glass on the table. "But one never knows when to mind their own fucking business; that was _your_ mistake…"

"My friends, it's been a wonderful evening I must thank you for that!" the Joker caught the attention of all the assistants, that was her sign to vanish and appear again at his back "And also for being so freaking stupid and not noticing you've let one of your boss' biggest enemies to the center of your organization. Oh, no offense to you, Buzzy, I know you knew… But make sure you tell Sally that I'll never even think of joining forces with him, we're not equals and we'll never be. Threat me like scum and you'll become one!" he gave her the honor of pushing the red little button that would give out a generous quantity of Joker toxin to the guests as he talked. "I appreciate your cooperation, and will make sure I'll leave you all as pleased as well.

"Say cheese, _pals_ …" her voice went back to normal but the sound of it was quickly replaced with thousands of maniac laughter and she savored it waiting eagerly for when the lifeless bodies would fall to the ground with a loud thud. Her parade ending with cracks of the giant glass surrounding the place. "What tha'…?"

"Well, fuck, I didn't know this crap was actually made of ice! Can't make it in once piece after a little exposition to mortal chemicals… we _must_ though!" they ran out before the remains of their joke left them in halves. "I don't know you, pumpkin pie, but I had quite an evening. Got to enjoy the best things of style less life of crime and make fools of a few folks! And it's just beginning, ha! By now we should have not only Bronski and the gang behind us but also Sally! This is getting more interesting that I thought!" Joker squealed delighted as they fled the toxin polluted, shattering lounge.

"Sure, Pud', it was fun. But are ya' sure you're feeling ok? Those were some worrying stares back there, gave me tha' chills!" she inquired in husky breath, both because she was running in heels and because she didn't know how he would react to her question.

"Why wouldn't I be ok? I'm feeling better than ever! Just really fucking pissed that they thought they could play with me that way! As if I was a coward an' would kiss Sal's stinky feet for the sake of my head! The hell do they think I am?! I am…!"

"Caught" a familiar hoarse voice ended the sentence in a different way from behind them as they came out of the crime scene, and almost automatically they put their hands up.

"There's just no truce with ya', is there Bats? Can't I take my lady out for a nice, fancy dinner once without you stepping on my Italian shoes?!" they didn't turn to see him; probably he was Plotting a way out of it as he distracted the bat with chit chat.

"The question rather is, can't you both get out of your pigsty once without leaving an important number of Gotham's population laughing to their deaths?" he did a minimum effort to grab both of their arms and secure them behind their backs.

"That's just ungrateful! We took care of a whole bunch a' mobs for ya' and here you are treating us like the bad guys. Ya' don't pay us enough or well ta' do your job!" Harley pouted as their nemesis walked them down to see the GCPD cars with the Jokerz members all beat up inside them and an Arkham ambulance approaching.

"I know from good source that you're kept content and quiet with a thank you, Quinn. You know I don't believe that ending lives with do the same with crime. That's all you're getting from me, and a free visit to the psychiatrist as always…"

"You could at least look for a functional madhouse. Don't know if you've noticed but it's so bad that even the doctors rather go loony tunes than working there! Ask blondie here if you won't buy my word!" Joker pointed out, his partner's vision began to show black spots here and there, product of the alcohol and the rough increase of speed they had just gone through.

"And also… If you're not too busy treating illegal behavior with violence, could ya' also get me an aspirin? Ya' know how Puddin' makes mah' world go round…" she fell unconscious on the arms of justice right in time for her to be put inside the ambulance. And for the green haired man to react aggressively at what he thought was the vision of the personal's strange hands having a party with his property's numb body, sending kicks and punches here and there decorated with lots of love, grunting and passion; the final act of his changing conduct trough that resulted in him getting not only one but two shots of tranquilizers that would surely keep him out for more than just hours. They would get a lecture from Doc Leeland because of that. But it was better to have Joker gone that wide awake, even while being restrained; they didn't know what he was capable of. The doctor's wordiness was nothing against the madman's trickery.

* * *

 _Bruce made sure the vehicle was far enough to report the mission accomplished to Jim, with those two he could never tell_ ; and if only he had known that alcohol was Harley Quinn's Achilles' heel a few years earlier he wouldn't have suffered headaches from her bell ring pitched voice and screams every time he had the misfortune of encountering her. "Took care of it, Commissioner. Didn't get a hint of Valestra but a good fraction of his gang is now dead; Joker and Quinn will get their proper congratulations in their second home."

"It's curious you mention their home, Batman. We just got a report of one of our patrols. Some poor, lost boys were making a scandal at being chased by a couple of rabid hyenas; we followed the path and found the clown's lair. There are some interesting files there; maybe we should get the doctors to review them and decide what to do with the papers, I analyzed them enough already and came to the conclusion that there's just too much useful information for a simple public employee like me… I got the part I needed, let's leave the rest to the professionals" he heard Jim say through the crappy signal there because of the damage the gas had done to the phone wires.

"What makes them so important that you feel it's out of your hands?"

"Well, might just be the Pandora box… But it's the exact answer we've looked for since we first heard of the killer clown, it pulls every single thread together, Batman… His true identity, we know who he really is."

 **To be continued…**

 _Dreamer._


	3. Taking Over

_~You don't remember me but I remember you. I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you. But who can decide what they dream? And dream I do... I believe in you, I'll give up everything just to find you; I have to be with you to live, to breathe. You're taking over me... I look in the mirror and see your face. If I look deep enough. So many things inside that are just like you are taking over~_ Evanescence, "Taking Over Me".

* * *

" _Holee' dark alley-holey! Whut tha' heck did those punks put in mah' drinks?! Where am I? And why's it so dark?" I was walking down some pitch black path barefoot with nothing on me but a white robe, then a thought hit me "Wait! Isn't this tha' movie with that clown doll that rolls around in a tricycle?! Well, hear me loud and clear, little bastard! I'm tha' only scary, sociopath clown here so the only game I'm gunna play with'cha is…!" suddenly a brilliant ray of light shone on my face, silencing my threats, and I had to cover my feeble eyes before the glare that rose in front of me got me blind. "My god, forget it! I prefer darkness that this frigging' light! It's blinding me! C'mon people I haven't worn the glasses in years and here you are fucking up my vision again!"_

" _Don't leave him…" a black silhouette took shape in the middle of the brightness. It was on its back, but my eyes finally turned the color spots into the figure of a woman with dark, short blond hair and clothes in various bright purple tones._

" _Who…? Harleen, is that you?! Whut on bloody hell did ya' do to our hair?! Ya' know how many times we had ta' dye it to make it look as if we were real blondes!" I grumbled at the one I thought was the worst of all the voices sheltered inside my troubled mind, but I knew I was wrong when the mirage spoke to me again._

" _He needs you, Harley. You must stick to him, no matter what happens…" I couldn't understand a thing she was saying, though I tried to tie the knots here and there to get a clue._

" _Uh, sure, I can try! But I guess I first have to know what's exactly going on to do what I must…?"_

" _Don't forget who he is; don't forget who you are… You're together for a reason. Don't leave him. Don't give up on him…"_

* * *

" _Puddin_ '!" Harley woke up with an exclamation, a sharp pain on the head as if she had been knocked out by the gracious hands of God himself and numbness on the inner part of her left arm, how weird… she only had that last kind of pain when she was in… "Fuck… Arkham!" she recognized the dark, cold cell and saw she had been sleeping against the stone wall which had various photos of her and Joker pasted above her head; so it'd be the first thing she saw when she woke up and the last when she "went to sleep". She blinked a couple of times trying to focus her vision but the headache was too strong to have been caused by a simple hangover "Woah, wild Fridays do really mess up a little lady like mah' self!" as she blamed it on the alcohol she chuckled maniacally and stretched herself to get more comfortable, utterly fruitless as always since her patient clothes was always so tight and rough that left red sore marks on her delicate skin. As if the chemical dip had not fucked her up enough!

She remembered she keep some things under the old sink to make her feel more like home, so she got up from the small, dusty, sound making bed and walked over there. Finding her grease paint, some nail polish, face and body lotion, a small portion of special "sweets" kindly given to her by Joker for when she got too bored of being alone or when her tiny selves started to tire her, and then she finally had her hands on her hand mirror and moisturizing cream for her puffy cheeks. "Let's see how many bruises they left this time…" was one of the things she most enjoyed about her trips to the asylum, confirming each time how the doctors and personal of the place were as insane and unstable as the internees themselves.

However, when she stared at her reflection, she found something much worse "Sure, they've got enough time to beat da shit outta' me but not to remove the wig…" If you want something well done do it yourself, her hands traveled the way up to her scalp and pulled at the messy locks that suddenly felt too real… and too attached to her head! And she continued to pull and pull until she had some strands tangling around her fingers, a chilling sensation made her way from her chest to the rest of her body, pouring itself inside her like blood. She kept staring at her only worried glassy self when she noticed her eyes were still Mrs. Nobody dark blue ones, only much darker than the contacts she previously had put on, and they didn't seem to have a way to be removed… now, she was terrified. "The fuck…?" she opened up her eye to stare at the movements of the unknown iris, then she saw the new color of her skin; darker, as it had once been before becoming the infamous Harley Quinn, though it still wasn't any tone she could've acknowledge as hers. In matter of shape she was still herself, it was her body! But that face, that skin… those belonged to somebody else. So she started to scream with all of her, that usually helped her awake from nightmares; and yet her agony rumbled as awoken whimpers, she wasn't asleep… she wasn't asleep but she wasn't her! What was going on?

"… quickly! Before she does something we'll all… Ah, Harley, you're up." Joan entered the cell after yelling at the guards, looking as calm as always, had she imagined what she had seen a second ago? She looked down at the arms she held around her shaky silhouette, nope, it was still not her skin.

"Joanie… what happened to me?" her voice came out only a little louder than a whisper, Dr. Leeland saw the remains of the cracked mirror on the floor and sighed in return, running a hand through her hair.

"I told Dr. Arkham we didn't have to leave you alone, but you know as well as I do that he never listens. Come with me, I'll explain everything to you…" she batted her hand so she approached and walked with her trough the hall. Her former colleague gently put an arm around her shoulders "You must've been terrified when you saw yourself, and It'll undoubtedly be a problem for you from now on… but it's for a good cause, Harley, that's the only thing to keep in mind…" the introduction bored her and she started to look at the cells showing on the halls, Eddie was there, also Jervis and Harvey, she wondered what they had done this time; she didn't find Doc Crane or Red though, and what frightened her more was the fact she was being taken to her Puddin's cell, that was pretty far of hers, Jeremiah's decision to keep them from having their night love escapades that ended up waking everyone up because of the scandal her groans and laughter made. The glass had been covered with a large black curtain, shit no… her eyes began to water.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HIM?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" she screamed with the last breath she had inside. The guard that had been following them from behind came to hold her harshly in the blink of an eye, before her hands had tangled around Joan's neck.

"You need the straitjacket, ma'am?" he said as Harley trembled, Joan shook her head and he let go of him.

"Joker's fine, better than ever actually… the curtain's only there for matters of privacy, Dr. Crane said his work is nobody business but his" she detested when they started talking their secretive, smarty-pants doctor crap! And what was with the respect towards Johnny Crane? He wasn't that much of an idolized psychiatrist anymore and what work could he possibly be doing with her Puddin'?!

"She's awake, Jonathan." She was led inside the medical stuff crowded cell. The walls that had showed her pictures were now empty, and there were two desks placed at each opposite corner; _Dr. Crane_ sat in one of them reading some documents from a light green folder, it was so weird seeing him without the costume and with his glasses, if she hadn't been so statue like she would've laughed at him until she snorted like a pig; on the other there was a computer with passing images of girls with features similar to the ones she had now. She didn't stare at him long as the discrete sound of a vital signs monitor caught her attention. The Joker, completely makeup less and still looking like Mr. Nobody laid there unconscious, with thousands of other machines around him. She didn't think twice before making her way to meet him, going down on her knees and caressing his cheek gently.

"Oh, baby…" she sobbed "I thought I had lost you… what are they doing to you?" she said in low voice for them not to hear her, but attempting to wake him up; he didn't, he barely frowned in distress at the sound of her voice, her tears staining the sheets placed above his body. "It's ok, I'll take us out of here… don't worry" she continued her stroking and kissed his forehead.

"Hands off the patient, Harley, he isn't stable yet…" the doctor in charge almost ordered, she turned to him with a confused expression.

"Is he sick, Johnny? Was it because of the explosion in the Lounge?" she tried to hold back the tears but being so absolutely clueless wasn't helping.

"The explosion? Of course not, that was nearly three days ago… J's alright, Harley. In fact, I've got good news for you, it seems he's recovering his sanity" he spin the cheer to face her also with a satisfied smile.

"How tha' hell do you know that? And why's he being abducted here? What's all this shit?" she didn't move from his side.

"Let me try to explain this as smooth and comprehensible as I can make it. It could cause you a shock hard to come out of…" he continued to show that stupid grin on his face as he pushed his glasses closer to his eyes, which made her heart sank inside more and more each time. "You do recall having played Mr. and Mrs. Napier that night at the Iceberg Lounge, don't you?" she nodded once, why couldn't they just get to the point before she lost the last bit of common sense she had left?!

"Well, dear. That happened three days ago as I was telling you, Batman caught you in your escape and brought you both here but then you passed out because of your excessive consumption of alcohol and that drove Joker even madder than he already was, he began beating the guards until he was administered two shots of tranquilizers, that as always don't have an immediate effect. Then, something odd happen, he began calling other woman's name as he stared to you and almost begging the personal not to take you away, saying that this Jeannie he spoke about was alive and that he didn't want to be parted from her again." Well, shit, if she hadn't been able to stop crying before neither would she do now! Why would he call her Jeannie at the verge of falling into unconsciousness? He knew she was dead, he knew both Jack and Jeannie were dead.

"I know, I made the exact same face you have right now. Turns out that your hyenas led the GCPD to your hideout in the old theatre, Gordon found your little character references there… and you won't believe this, Harl, really; The information the Joker had about Jack Napier and his wife, these papers here were the missing puzzle piece for a case the police had had in waiting for years…" he waved the folder on his hand, of course, she had to know it was nothing from the asylum, that was one of Puddin's folders "So here we are now, and allow me to introduce to you to Mr. Jack Napier, former worker of the Ace Chemical Processing Plant, and close hitman to Salvatore Valestra… now also known as the Joker"

"Woah, woah, Hold yer' goddamn horses! You're saying that Puddin truly is… Mr. Nobody?" correction now, Mr. Nobody was Mr. Everything after all…

"If by that you mean Mr. Napier, exactly. Everything's here, Harley!" he spun to the computer on the other corned, forcing her to walk and see over his shoulder to all of the archives that pointed into only one direction: the Joker was Jack Napier without a doubt "I wonder how they didn't find out earlier. Such a coincidence, one more time the famous an still unknown Red Hood strikes, cheap trickery used by not only Valestra's but many other bosses' gangs, a terrible accident happens to two people identified as Mr. and Mrs. Napier, only her body was taken to the station, his? Was never found, the last place he was seen was in a bar near to his home, same place were the Valestra gang used to hold reunions. Then the department gets news of this whole Red Hood thing, they hear the gangsters call him "Jack", Batman appears he falls into the chemicals and nothing more is ever heard of him…" he went by the newspapers and pictures and evidence so fast that she felt as if her head was a freaking disco ball. As he told the story so eagerly her pumping brain also started to connect one point with the other, the happenings that described series of unfortunate events that lead into a miserable life like a fucking Hollywood film. And all they could see was the adding of missing, tiny but important facts to a sick equation that would bring all of those suckers: Batman, Gordon, Arkham, the glory they could've just dreamed of, they had the Joker's whole existence on their hands.

"Then! The night after this incident is when the criminal that referred to himself as the Joker attacks for the first time… Now, can we really call this a coincidence? Poor man went through some heavy things, you know? A failed comedian, he got involved with the mafia to get him and his wife a chance at life, and all of the wrong shit happened because of all of the right reasons. Do I feel sorry for him… " Harley fell to the ground definitely out of strength or sense of reality and thanked heavens foe the moment Johnny quit the chit chat allowing her to pointlessly search for something to grab a hold onto, this was too much to be processed in such a short time. So many memories went by her head, things he had said or done, things he'd never say or do, things he had demanded from her and did to himself, so many things that resulted in only: One bad day. Her vision became blurred, suddenly she didn't give a damn about what she looked like, about what could Crane be doing playing doctor, about anything but the crushing feeling of getting too much information; the only thing that kept her feet on the ground was the progressively fainting beating of her heart, and one more detail she yet had to know.

"A-and her? What exactly happened to his… ?" fuck, fuck, fuck… she shouldn't have asked; the truth was hitting her like a damned professional WWA boxer. She couldn't say it out loud, but neither had she wanted to hear it…

"His wife? Ah, even sadder story, dear. She was six months pregnant, a boy, she had been trying a baby bottle heater and it started a fire inside their apartment, or so the only witnesses said, everything was burned to ashes. Actually, according to my studies of J's mind, it seems that was what hit him the most" he continued to go by the papers on the folder, until Harley's cries were audible enough for him to stop and stared at the shattered blonde who's tears formed a puddle on the ground. Jonathan sometimes took things for granted, like she would be happy to find out who his psychopath really was, they had shared that passion over criminal minds while being colleagues. But Harley was no Doctor Quinzel anymore, she was a silly little girl that had excessively loved someone she didn't know enough. Joker was never meant to be loved the way the harlequin had done, Johnny knew that as well as he knew himself.

"Oh, my God… My god, this can't be true… Puddin', my Puddin', how could this happen to him? My sweet baby… God, no!" she shouted previous to cover her aching face with her hands. Those were not only regular, normal tears, the ones that came out when you see a sad movie or when someone turns a perfect good day to crap; those were pieces of her soul that came out of her eyes, that insanely tried to run away from the hurting mess that was her core. So she mourned for him, mourned for all the years that had gone by, the ones she had been beside him, the ones she couldn't have imagined the kind of pain he had gone through. For the person he had become to continue living in a world that constantly swallowed and spat him out, for the scars she couldn't cover up, for the solution she would never give him because it was too late… too late to fix anything. Life couldn't have been so cruel with them… such a wonderful man, the image of perfection for her, had been destroyed in just one fucking night. And no one had done anything about him, no one had moved a single finger for him; if she had known him back then, if there had been something she could've done…

"God, I'm… very sorry about this, Harls. Come here, I didn't really think of how you'd take this in, forgive me" he helped her on her feet and brought her into a _friendly_ embrace, the blonde's hands entwined around his shoulders and she buried her face on his neck, wetting his white robe all over.

"He didn't deserve this, Johnny… you probably can't understand this, but you don't know him like I do. He's been through enough pain already… and yet he smiled every freaking day, and tried to make everyone see the world through his eyes, he just wanted to heal it in his own way, and this' what he got in return…" it made no sense, Mr. J had been a normal human, citizen, husband and almost father like any other man in Gotham, struggling to keep going on each day, and the only thing he got in return was the hatred of some stupid rotten moral puppets that thought were so much better than him…. They didn't know a thing, not even while having all of the answers right in front of their eyes could they see anything but what was beneficial to them, she let out a painful growls at that thought; that was the why of what was going on.

"That's why we're trying to give him his life back, Harley. And we want you to help us, we need you to help us…" we, fucking we meant that Arkham had gotten his nasty fingers into the matter. She was smart enough to know that she had to expect the unexpected, yet now she was hopeless, the shock hard to come out of that Johnny had so nicely attempted to avoid was wrapped around herself like a blood thirsty cobra. She cleaned herself up as much as she could with the hem of her sleeve and looked up to him, catching a glimpse of the affection he held for her inside as they stared into each other faces.

"What can I do?" there was a large range of intentions to be chosen from that phrase. However she had only two in mind: how could he ever get over something like that? And what could she possibly do about it? Johnny instructed her to sit on the chair Joan had placed next to his and took her ice cold hands in his.

"I've been watching J from up close, pretty one, and even if I kept up with this for one or ten more years, I'll never get to comprehend all of the issues he's got completely; but for what I could get, the memory of his late wife is a big trouble for him, not the greatest or most influential, still an important one. Seeing you, somewhat similar to what Jeannie Napier used to look like, it worked for him as a visual stimulus. In first instance, when you two met, it explains why he decided to make a move on you and now that you actually intended to look like her, it was like a punch that made him recover part of his memories, even if it was for a minute. It's still a theory now, though Doctor Arkham and Doctor Leeland agree with me that it may help in J's rehabilitation if the presence of Jeannie was still with him..."

"Can you say that without decorating it with words like a damn Christmas tree? Ya' did just turn my head into a bowl a' mashed potatoes, my clever self's on vacation...a long one" she continued to wipe the mascara black tears from her cheeks.

"I mean that he will be able to heal faster and better if he has even one small piece of his past is there along the journey to keep his memories fresh and awake. Look here, the night the cops got into your hideout, the Commissioner called Jeremiah to ask for help and special care for J, the doctors became familiar with the case and they've been monitoring him since then, let me show you the first recording…" he searched for a certain archive on the computer, it was a video of the Joker recorded by the security cameras that now pointed at them, she could feel Arkham's eyes at her back through his robot ones, but she was too confused and pained to care "when the tranquilizers went off, he woke up calling for his wife's name, though when the nurses approach him he goes back to black…" true, in first instance he had been curled in a corner of the room whispering sense lacking things, then he saw the nurses entering and stared into the ground for a short while before trying to attack them and throw colorful insults at them to be freed from the restraining he had around his body.

"We noticed this unusual modification in his behavior, Dr. Arkham saw an opportunity we couldn't afford to waste there, if the exposure to items of his previous life was affecting the problems of his bipolar disorder and multiple personality in a positive way we had to continue with it. He also recalled Dr. Cranes previous studies in cases like this, proving it isn't entirely possible that certain kinds of amnesia can be cured with some external clout, we talked about the matter and now he's here as an important developer of this project. I had a few sessions with him in the period from dawn until the afternoon of the following day. Showed him all of the documentary the GCPD could get from them and especially hers, starting from letters, then legal papers, and ended with pictures. At first he did the same, kept quiet, moaned a while and then snapped back into insanity in raging episodes. That until he was under the influence of a visual image of her and their lives together; in one of the most recent sessions I held with him, he started asking questions about her, if she really was dead as he remembered having seen her recently. Of course, it wasn't entirely her, it was you dressed as her…" Joan had the courtesy of taking out her own collection of palpable evidence, Harley confirmed part of their thoughts, she had to agree that she saw some similarity between herself and her Puddin's …uh, wife. "Thanks to the information gotten by Joker himself and Jonathan's vast knowledge in toxins we were able to reverse the effects of the chemical waste on both of you successfully, it did wonders for his ill mind as well; of course and due to Dr. Arkham's instructions a few more changes had to be done to your own appearance in order for the image of Jeannie in you would be permanent and to make sure it would bring results for our hypothesis, because of this you have been sedated until today. On the last session we had, yesterday, he barely said a thing to me, seemed to be scared somehow; then I asked if he would like having a chance of seeing his wife again, so we took him to your cell and this is what happened…"

It seemed as Joan and Johnny had been synchronized, as soon as she finished talking, he already had the mouse in another tape, this one was indeed inside her cell, and she was asleep on her bed with two nurses on her side, checking her pulse, covering up some bruises, as if they were taking care of her. Mr. J saw from the outside for a while and then became terrified by an unknown environment to him, demanding answers from Dr. Leeland as for why had happened to his wife, where were they and why. But he focused more on Jeannie, her in the shape of Jeannie…

"So, that's the reason why you look like this. At first, we had to try it against your will, for the experimental phase of the treatment; I extend you Jeremiah's and my personal apologies for this. Now, the rushed meaning of all this is because the treatment must necessarily be continuous, if there's even one tiny interruption all of the progress will be lost instantly. The first part is done, we confirmed that he remembers who he is and his true self is kept while being around his wife. The proposal we have to make here, you have to try to take this in as swiftly and reasonable as you can…"

"We want you to take part in the experiment too, Harley, as you already did unintentionally. You know Joker better than anyone has ever gotten the chance to, perhaps even more than his late wife. You understand him, know about some of his fears, deep truths, desires; and you have the benefit of looking the same as Jeannie at his eyes." There he was again; holding her hands in his excitement sweaty hands, talking as if he was telling her she was being nominated for a Nobel Prize. "We want you to be our, his own version of Jeannie Nappier" oh, her mistake, no! They were offering her and Academy Award worth role…

"What? Ya' mean ya' wan' me to pretend to be his wife?" Her face reappeared from the shelter her palms had created. Johnny stared into her reddened dark blues tenderly and caressed her cheek intending to comfort her.

"Exactly, for now we're using memories as a sort of incentives, or medications. According to the Doctor's experimentation however, in the long run he won't require these memories as a hold of reality and we will be able to refresh his memory until we reach the last moments he lived as Jack Napier, if it doesn't affect him negatively, maybe even his times as Batman's nemesis. Anyhow, I'm afraid that we are not aware of how long this stage of the therapy will be to last, so for as long as this type of incentive is needed, you, it is essential, if not crucial that you take the place of his diseased partner" the female half of the just stablished dynamic duo ended.

"But... how can ya' be sure that he won' notice I'm not her? On the shell we might be the same, but there's a whole differen' chickin' on the inside…" The situation couldn't finish degrading itself. It started pretty awful and continued to get worse until Harley no longer had labels for all levels of "bad" that this invented medicine created along with its crude birth.

"Joan already said it, once his memory is correctly settled he'll find out what really happened on his own and you'll be free to go back to your normal life. It won't be too long, that I'm certain of; you don't have to worry about a thing, we'll have your backs, and this isn't meant to be carried out here, of course not. What's needed, we're willing and ready to get it for you two, a new home, ID's, jobs and medical attention every once in a while, anything…" so they were going to free them, to go make them lived as two completely different, strangers?

"And feel free to ask for any other thing, we're open to your suggestions, request, thoughts, you've always been a treasure of a psychologist and person, Harley. I have no doubt that with your help this will only end in benefits… for all of us" a' course', they weren't just doctors, they were fame and fortune sickened seekers and they didn't care about what, or who, they'd have to do in order to get it. Besides, they were forgetting a little detail, Harley… wasn't a piece of a normal civilian being asked to do something good for the safety of the city and getting some rewards for herself on the way, she was an ill patient with an assassin records that would take no more nonsense from those two drooling jerks!

"No, no, no!" she walked away, with her pumping head between her hands, screeching "Whut kind of Ouija board do ya' think you're playing with? Mr. J and I may not be tha' greatest looking samples in this disgusting laboratory but that doesn't mean you can use us as your sucking experimental rats! This has to be the most insane thing that has ever happened inside these creeping walls! And I have seen much more heavy shit than you two will ever do…!" she had to giggle suddenly at the memory of when the internees organized a whole night lasting dance battle, Puddin' and her made such a good pair. Then, she felt that freaking worn out night stabbing on her chest, her little love's mind was being turned into something much similar to what his nickname meant.

"And this is some decrepit, first psychology semester theory that I won't get myself involved with as easily as you did with Dr. Dickhead here! What the exact fuck, Johnny? We are friends, the three of us, allies! How could you do this to me?! To him?! You sold yourself to Arkham like a cheap, starved whore for actually nothing that can be proved to be given and now you want me to do it too? With a big-ass smile of a face that's not even mine?! Seriously how much more sick can ya' get? The point of being a psychologist is finding cures not getting high on hopes and selfish acts! This is disgusting! And I'm damn sure it isn't only because you've made a' junkie outta me for the past three motherfucking days! No, no! This ends right here, right now! Where's Arse-kham?! I need some bones tah' break and he's got some godsdamn pointy, crunchy ones I'd love to have between my fingers, specially this one!" and so she gave them the middle one, cracked her knuckles and made her way to the door. _'Wait! Are we really gonna' leave Mistah J at these two bad portrayed lunatics' mercy? … Ya' forgettin' whut he's taught us from the very beginning? Asses kicked first then damsels in distress rescued! … ah, so that's why he never came to rescue us, too many asses to kick I guess!'_ she then felt perfectly capable of turning Jeremiah into candle wax and then get her Puddin' back to their love nest so they could forget about that whole soap opera.

"Right here, Miss Quinzel…" the crazy old bag appeared right in front of her, almost asking a beating from her, she decided to be nice and grant his death wish "Not alone though, bad luck…" the guards grasped her arms and put a beautiful, new stun gun to her neck; quickly bringing her to her knees, embarrassingly immobilized "To my office, gentleman. We've kept Batman waiting long enough…" So she'd have a visit from Bats to end her perfect day, what else could she ask for?! Maybe that the foes hadn't dragged her like a trash bag and planted her to the chair in front of Arkham's desk when B-man wasn't looking. And when he did turn, he almost jumped inside his tight suit.

"God, you did mean every word you said, Doctor…" he was amazed! Ah, claps for the insane! This wasn't messing with her identity at all, no! This was genius doing, this was a wonder! "Is it really you, Quinn?"

"What's left a' me, yeah…" she replied, eyes to the floor and arms to the back.

"I'm a man of word, Batman. I told you we'd do even the impossible to ensure a good recovery for Mr. Joker… But now, it's entirely on Miss Quinzel's hands. I appreciate you volunteering to talk to her" any other thing concerning her she didn't have an idea of? He was running out of space on her list.

"Part of my duty, Dr. Arkham. I'll only request some privacy, please…" Jeremiah looked from her to him repeatedly before raising his elbows.

"Why not, I believe you're perfectly capable of handling her. In case something does happen, you know where to find the panic button…" he pulled along the guards with him and shut the door behind them.

"How are you?"

"Looking like shit under this pretty face, Batsy, ya' can bet your latex butt cheeks and say I'm feeling like that too" she didn't try to hide the hatred, what for?

"I guessed so… it wasn't easy for anyone, though… I knew you'd be like this" she mimicked his words displeasingly "And I'm sorry… for all of this, for him, for you… for having done absolutely nothing"

"Probably the brightest thing yer nasty winged rat tongue has ever said..." she conceded.

"That's why, I feel forced to consider this thoroughly, it's somewhat twisted and too hypothetical as I see it, still… it might be Joker's only chance" curious, she had started to weep herself all over, who wouldn't? With such a dark, low pitched voice from the, oh so glorious knight!

"Chance a' what, exactly? Losing all of his rights to choose whut he wants tah' do with his own damn life? This isn't my thing at all, but they know Puddin wouldn't let them do something as rotten as this! So they use me and keep him asleep and cooperating instead…"

"Quinn, I think both you and me agree he has suffered enough already. For what I was told, the man only wanted a comfortable life for his family, he's been left without any of that… you and you're affection towards him is all that he's got. It may not be the standard easy way, and I can't even imagine what it's like to be asked to become somebody different from you for the sake of your loved one's sanity… That's a test for anyone, how far would you go… what you would make yourself into for that someone. My intentions aren't to convince you, in fact I'd even dare to support you if you walked out of this and go back to the streets to cause terror in his memory. But, Harleen, I swear you can't understand what it's to lose what meant the world to you until it happens to you…" he wasn't facing her anymore, and she was glad, in one hand because she was a crying mess and on the other because she wouldn't take him seriously saying those things if he had been looking at her.

"Kay' I get that concept, now what ya'll don't seem to get is that this is simply the recipe of disaster! How do you expect a friggin' patient to heal another patient?! I'm not here just because of being a little too lovesick! I'm sick in many other ways! I'm not questioning the theory; they say it works, fine, whutevah'! I'm talking about the results here, the afterwards! Not only his mental stability but mine! And changing the topic for a second now… I heard mah' babies were the ones to open the Pandora, where they now?" she had to ask; now it did seems as if she was losing what meant for her the most.

"In the zoo, but as they're so aggressive they'll be sent off to a more fitting environment in Africa in few weeks hopefully…"

"Ya' took em' to the zoo?! Forget what I said! I'm sane enough to know they're bettah' off with two psycho clowns like us rather than in that hell ya' people call zoo!" she had run out of her tears to shed, at least they were alive. She should've known better than to leave them with the newbies… she wouldn't have been living that nightmare at that moment.

"So that's it… I was wondering what your only chance was in this case. Life's never easy on anybody…"

"Now, what's that jibber-jabber 'bout? For what I recall I've nevuh' wanted to play boring housewife for the rest a' my days! If I want I can kick my own ass outta' this and buh-bye!"

"And you'll never know what it was of him, you might not ever see him or hear of him again… Arkham said he's willing to find another one to do your part if you're unwilling, and we know he will. If his memory's so fragile now, he might think of anyone as Jeannie Nappier, as he's done with you, he won't remember no Doctor Quinzel… and no Harley Quinn, if he's lucky enough, the girl they choose will stick to her role and that would be the end of you two..." that sounded death sentence enough for her.

"Ya' sure you're not tryin' to convince me of anything? How much did Arkham slip into your undies?"

"Not enough to keep up with your hideous jokes… Look, if you do decide to go on with this, think of him… think of what he's gone through, think it'll only be for a short time before he's stable and ready to have a normal life. And if you do love him as much as you say you do, you'll love all of him… with a little bit of luck, maybe you too will get the life you dreamed of; try to explain him your reasons to be where you are and in return have a nice, loving man by your side to start a family. Who knows what could happen? Possibilities come in large, numerous groups, but for now… just think that the man you care for deeply is still inside that cell and you're his only way out of it, as it was the first time. Though this time, you have the opportunity of leaving, and never having to come back…"

At that moment Harley could only wonder how could she hadn't gone crazy when madness was inside every person and around every corner… the mere thought of it was nuts! And despite that, she was beginning to consider another mad hint! … That she didn't really have other choice but to accept.

 **To be continued…**

 _Dreamer._


End file.
